My biggest change is to inspect the labeling of the package to ensure that I don’t buy anything that comes from a blue state if I can help it. I damned sure don’t buy any vegetables from California, for instance.

I spent over $400 yesterday. Primarily beans rice and pasts. No meat. No vegetables. No fruits. No dairy. I did get oils and seasonings. This will just barely feed my family of eight for the month. Ill spend another 150+ next week for fruits and veggies. Cant afford meat but I have a few chickens for eggs and two milk goats.

to tell the truth, i have never looked at the price of the stuff i buy

that said, my weekly bill runs from $20 to $100 for food and consumables(TP, bowl cleaner, detergent, etc included) but it all depends on what i am out of at the time which sometimes is nothing, so all i'm buying is milk, yogurt, bread and maybe a couple other things, but on average i'd say my weekly average cost has risen at least $10...

13
posted on 03/10/2013 10:19:52 AM PDT
by Chode
(Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)

Break down large roast for stews and soups, chicken for a myriad of dishes. and turkey. Wife does not like seafood (except shrimp) so we will buy a bag of 16-20 shrimp and use in an occasional shrimp cocktail for a treat.

Buy tomato products by the case.

Pasta, beans and rice in large bags.

Eat out once in a while. but not much more than $30 for two since it is usually breakfast or lunch (being seniors helps get discounts).

We freeze what we have not eaten and time and date it all so we know what is still edible after a period of time. So many dished freeze well.

Between regular foodstuffs at Fred Meyer, specialty items at Whole Foods, and the farmers market, probably around $125 per week just for me. It’s not cheap to support your local farmers and ranchers, but it sure is delicious!

16
posted on 03/10/2013 10:29:39 AM PDT
by andyk
(I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)

I spend $300-350 a month to feed two adults and a toddler ~ and that eating organic. The boy gets supplements, DHA, probiotic, iodine, D3, a multivitamin, and a few drops of colloidal silver. I don’t buy many prepared foods. I mostly cook from whole foods. I even make our own chinese food, but that’s about $40 extra when we do that. We end up with 50 egg rolls and 50 crab rangoon for that price so it’s worth it.

Colloidal silver: Is it safe or effective?
My dad takes colloidal silver for his health, but is it safe?

Answer
from Brent A. Bauer, M.D.

Colloidal silver isn’t considered safe or effective for any of the health claims manufacturers make. Silver has no known purpose in the body. Nor is it an essential mineral, as some sellers of silver products claim.

Colloidal silver products are made of tiny silver particles suspended in a liquid  the same type of precious metal used in jewelry, dental fillings, silverware and other consumer goods. Colloidal silver products are usually marketed as dietary supplements that are taken by mouth. Colloidal silver products also come in forms to be injected or applied to the skin.

Manufacturers of colloidal silver products often claim that they are cure-alls, boosting your immune system, fighting bacteria and viruses, and treating cancer, HIV/AIDS, shingles, herpes, eye ailments and prostatitis. However, no sound scientific studies to evaluate these health claims have been published in reputable medical journals. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has taken action against some manufacturers of colloidal silver products for making unproven health claims.

It’s not clear how much colloidal silver may be harmful, but it can build up in your body’s tissues over months or years. Most commonly, this results in argyria (ahr-JIR-e-uh), a blue-gray discoloration of your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums. While argyria doesn’t pose a serious health problem, it can be a cosmetic concern because it doesn’t go away when you stop taking silver products.

single person, not including doggie food & treats (yeesh!) She gets the best...Blue Buffalo, no chinese treats.

I buy chicken and meats and dairy ...but not much meat...from whole Foods cause I don’t want the chemicals and hormones. I also buy calcium and magnesium supplements from the health store. fresh produce and hummus and kettle chips and raw nuts from Sam’s Club..though now I hear the real and safest canned tuna comes from Costco. Starbucks coffe and I brew it myself every morning.

Food and ALL prices have fone UP AND UP AND UP.
I have NO idea how I am going to make it in retirement..which is why I haven’t retired yet.ha.

And that MD has no idea what he’s talking about. I posted the supplements because the OP asked, not because I wanted a debate or lecture on those I or my family choose to take. I have personal experience with the remarkable power of colloidal silver.

Two and sometimes unavoidable, unwamted visits from the stepson and step-grandson. The additional food does not bother me but when they are here I cannot be a slob in my own home. I have to be ‘nice’ and always smile. ;-)

We spend $100 to $120 a week, including tissues, paper towels, soaps, etc., for a family of four. It’s the same amount we’ve spent for the last five years or so. But now, my wife spends a lot more time with coupons and looking for deals, and buying mostly from a discount store. We eat good, healthy food, but a little less meat now, and more “store brand” stuff.

24
posted on 03/10/2013 11:04:52 AM PDT
by WildSnail
(The US government now has more control over the people than the old Soviet Union ever dreamed of)

I laugh about one store that changed out their shopping carts recently. I say the reason is that so many products got downsized they needed newer carts with lesser distances between the slats to keep packages from slipping out of the old carts onto the floor.

I’m one of those nuts that keeps track of everything I spend. In 2012 my dining out averaged $65 a month which includes monthly business meetings with clients. Groceries average $140 a month. In November I found a great on-line company that was giving a huge discount and free shipping so ordered a years supply of Cheer, Cascade, toilet tissue and paper towels.

There are lots of things I no longer buy at the store because they just cost too much. I look for those items which are buy 1, get 1 free. Have lots of coupons I ended up not using because the brand available by a coupon cost more with the coupon than other brands without a coupon. Also started frequenting the Dollar Tree more.

Before 2012 I used to spend up to $400 a month and a whole lot more eating out. Not easy or fun to cook for just one. Gas, insurance and taxes all keep going up so that money had to come out of the grocery budget.

29
posted on 03/10/2013 11:16:48 AM PDT
by Grams A
(The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)

Thanks for posting this, it’s interesting to see the various responses. I have no idea what I spend on food but it’s a lot because we eat lots of organic and go out about 10x a month for dinner and lunch out every day. Now I feel like I should look into it.

It has gotten real difficult for me the last few months. Difficult enough that I've lost about 15lbs. between Dec. and now.

I shop a lot at the local Dollar Tree for things like toiletries and food basics. I've been surprised most weeks at what I find there for under a total bill of $20.00.

Meat is a rare treat anymore, even lunch meat or cheese is a ‘gift’ to myself once a month. I honestly can't even stand the thought of walking into a grocery store! It is too upsetting. Last time I was in one hoping to get an after holiday turkey cheap...let's just say it was emotionally difficult. I was happy to get out of there.

I still have zucchini, corn, and strawberries from last summer in the freezer and plan to pull a garden together again this year.

I am working hard, my business is growing...but I am not keeping up with the cost of things. I pray every day, but last week my prayers had a few tears with it.

33
posted on 03/10/2013 11:40:42 AM PDT
by EBH
( American citizens do not negotiate with political terrorists.)

I do not buy what this doctor says about colloidal silver at all! I have personal experience taking this and it works. I can not take prescription medication. Silver biotics has worked every time for a sinus or ear infection without fail. I have let others in my family try it for sinus, ear, tooth infections. It worked for them and now my Sister, Sister In Law/Brother, and Brother In Law would not be without it. It has been very effective for all of us. Even my Son reaches for it if he gets sick. Why? Because he knows it works.I will take my chances with this any day over pharmacy drugs with their side effects.

You are absolutely right! You can read my reply to it, but the short of it is I can’t take presription drugs, and without silver biotics I would be in trouble. Works every time for a sinus infection, etc. I and others in my family have used it for 6 years when we have a problem. Works every time!

$600/ month for us includes diapers, booze, cleaning supplies and paper products. We pay a premium for grass fed bed, deep bedded pork and eggs from field roaming chickens. We get this from a local farmer. We also pay a premium for organic products when the weather prevents us from growing our own (but I’m asking for a cold frame for my birthday). We cook, I bake our bread (even our own tortillas) and pack our lunchs. Although we pay more for certain items, I think we spend less by simply not buying processed and convenience foods. It’s also simple to avoid MSG, HFCS, pink slime, and hydrogenated oils when you cook from scratch. Making my own lard is darn near free, and we haven’t purchased chicken and beef stocks in years. Those only cost me the energy to simmer and pressure can because I use all kitchen scraps.

I used to track household costs like this when I was off from work and my friend was going through a divorce... I was coming over to let his dogs out mid day... and eventually he just asked me to move in.

Our arrangement had me buying fuel oil, groceries and doing stuff around the property like cutting the lawn, cooking, cleaning, installing a custom designed HVAC control for moving hot air from the pelletstove in the basement den to the rest of the house... servicing the oil burner on the water heater... all sorta stuff.

Well I remember tracking costs and I had the groceries and dry goods provisioning down to about $11 per day for both of us... plus, we did a shitload of entertaining at the farmhouse... and my groceries covered that too.

Granted, sometimes he would not show up for dinner... but I was making good healthy homecooked meals (other than chili cheese fry night... hahahaha!)... but it was a lot of work. I was constantly checking all the circulars for the sale items... constantly cutting USEABLE coupons for staple items... and being extra frugal buying stuff like cheese ends from the deli department (perfect for Mac-N-Cheese), produce that had tiny imperfections... or the bagels in the bulk bins went from 89 cents each to $1.99/dozen at 8:30pm... I made good use of the 1967 chest freezer that cost him $60 to run until I defrosted it... which hadn’t been done in 20 years.

that prepackaged stuff is what my old roommate would get when he went all ADHD and self medicated himself by going to the snooty Wegmans. Why buy Amy’s premade soup when you can have homemade I mean completely from scratch including homemade chicken stock... every week.

My specialty was cream of asparagus... when asparagus went on sale... I would think nothing of buying 5 lbs at a clip to make a HUGE batch. Amy’s? Pftt!

Up until a month ago we had four additional grandkids with us plus the two usual ones (the extras were here for 7-8 months). My wife is from a poorer Asian country and knows how to economize. So I’d say she was doing it for around $350-$400/month for all of them, although school lunches for some of them distort it as do my $3.45 breakfasts at BK every day and other occasional fast food meals. My wife goes heavy on the vegetables and fruits although sliced turkey is one of the big items also. We buy gallons of 2% milk for about $2.49 here. The meals for the extra kids couldn’t have been too bad, since the kids all gained weight from their former scrawny selves. Now that they have gone back we expect the healthful eating to cease and the ribcages to emerge again :<( Best wishes to your family.

I wouldn’t give it to a child either, or an adult, except for external application where it is known to work against skin infections (or at least a proper preparation can). No science-based peer-reviewed experimental evidence exists that it can work internally against infections. Yeah, I guess it’s all a big conspiracy against home medicine and it really does work LOL.

My wife and I go out to each 3-4 nights each week (we both work) and spend an average of $90 each time as I usually have a couple of drinks with the meal, usually wine. So I figure around $1500 for that. We do most of our grocery shopping between Whole Foods, Trader Joes and the local butcher shops and probably around $200 a week for that ($800 a month).

Cooking a nutritious, full diet from scratch, an individual can be healthy and more active than most Americans on about $3 per day in our USA (others requiring higher calorie intakes—infantry soldiers, athletes requiring much endurance, and the like). Much less for those with livestock and gardens in arable areas with temperate climates. Study nutrition thoroughly, though (especially for extra calcium and protein for those who work hard).

49
posted on 03/10/2013 1:04:33 PM PDT
by familyop
(We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.